Today is the darkest day of the year, and that’s really noticeable here in the U.K. It’s dusky, if not dark, for both the morning and afternoon parts of the school run! Still, tomorrow it’ll be dark for a few seconds less than today, and so on for the rest of winter. Even if it’s likely to get colder, at least it’ll be lighter!

Which brings me to the subject of this blog hop. One question our wrangler, Joanne Sprott (co-chair of TABI) asked really stayed with me:

Friends

Secondly, I thought about how this has always been a time of year when people come together. We celebrate with friends and/or family, we share tales of what’s been and hopes for the future, as well as more physical support and nurturing in the form of food and gifts.

I am a firm believer in self-empowerment, and often see Court cards as aspects of myself, rather than someone external. Still, I also recognise that we are all interconnected in small and large ways. I rely on other people, from my husband to the folks who stock the supermarket shelves, from the medical staff who are always there in case of emergency to our local baker who cooks up myriad delights. And the Court cards can definitely represent other people in our lives.

In that light, I decided to do a little spread drawing on the wisdom of the Court cards.

Who can help me, with what, and how?

I’m not a fan of dividing the deck up into it’s different parts (Majors, Minors, Courts, or any other division). However, this little draw seems to beg for that. So, what I did was simply shuffle all the cards of the Nusantara Tarot (2010) up, and then draw cards until I got one of each:

Who can help me? – Knight of Wands

I’m in need of a bit of a kick up the butt, it seems! I need a shot of energy and enthusiasm, a bit of passion. It doesn’t have to be enduring, I don’t have to worry about going the distance and making this last me through the year to come. I just need it for now.

As for who that might be in my life, I’m often quite a self-starter. On the other hand, I’ve been in contact with someone lately who has definitely lit a fire under me, so I think this is her.

What can they help me with? – The Tower

Ack, this card came up in my first draw with this deck, too! (Link is to the unboxing video I posted earlier today) I’ve recently been considering a slighty different interpretation to the standard. Tower moments challenge me, everything seems to come tumbling down, and I feel I have to start again from scratch. In that regard, it can represent a relapse.

How can this Court help me? – Six of Wands

A man rides a horse, surrounded by other people. He is being seen, he is a role-model. Yet, I wonder how much knowing that affects him. Certainly, for me as a therapist, I feel a strong need to walk my talk. How can I help others if I can’t help myself? It’s like the old adage about not getting a haircut from a bald guy 😀

Still, that doesn’t mean I have to be perfect. Unrealistic expectations help no-one. What it means, to me, is that I have to have the tools to pick myself up again after I’ve fallen. And part of that may require a bit of a kick in the butt – thank you, Knight of Wands!

As a final gift, I end with a different song playing in my head, looking forward to lighter days ahead: May the Longtime Sun…

Wow, another great deck (am making a Christmas list now due to this hop!). I love the colors and attitude of the characters. And thank you for the journal prompts! Those will come in handy. Friends and journaling–good stuff. .

Well, Katalin, with the workbook you can just journal on those questions now, then leave it. I’m a firm believer that these things percolate inside us once we’ve asked the questions, even if we don’t have all the answers right away 🙂

As always, Chloë, great spread, great insights, great stuff. How you do all you do, especially with smaller children in the house, is beyond me!

I downloaded the journaling prompts booklet, thanks!

Very neat idea to pull from the three major divisions of the Tarot. I used my Fountain Tarot and got Page of Coins, Justice, Ten of Coins. So, all about the money, even with justice and her measuring scales. Look to new resources (Page) to create abundance (Ten) and balance the budget (Justice). Seemed very practical, this one. 🙂

Glad you like the journal prompts, Joanne. And I loved your reading: as you say, very practical 🙂

I love how here Justice was balancing your budget! Amazing how different the cards’ messages can be, day to day. For me, yesterday, Justice was about learning to recognise where in my body I feel if something is right or wrong… Might sound simple, but it’s still a work in progress for me *rolls eyes*

Funny you should say that, Ania. I used it again after New Year, and got another really helpful reading from it, which feels like it represents the whole year: Page of Pentacles, Judgement, Nine of Wands… I need help staying practical in my studies to reach the next level (exam is in March) and need some help pushing through to the end 🙂 Hope you did give it a go, and got something useful from it!